Newton’s first law and ETDs: Scholarly communication at a liberal arts university in Hong Kong

Open Access electronic theses and dissertations are more and more common in universities. This Increase in visibility of early scholarship has prompted re-examination of the traditional publication process from researchers, librarians and post-graduate students. A number of recent studies have shed significant light on if an open access ETD will impact post-graduate students’ ability to publish findings derived from a thesis with an academic publisher. However, these studies have largely focused on publishers, researchers and post-graduates’ attitudes in the United Kingdom and North America. Two years after implementing an Open Access policy for ETDs at a university in East Asia, the author surveyed advisors of research post-graduates on their views regarding Open Access theses and their students’ future publishing prospects.